Blackgate and Beyond

[hedgeknight]

Ware the blooded blade, lads. A shadow slinks forth looking for more blood. Before the guards can even respond, an avian flies upward into the night, joining the Old Crow. Finding a place to alight, the younger one watches the guards carefully as the older watches her back.

Did you shapechange? I need clearer information.

[alchemy]

Sorry...I was being creative. I did shapechange. I'll write slower if that helps...

[hedgeknight]

No need to write slower, just clearer

[alchemy]

Callie and Old Crow snicker in unison at the silly DM...

[hedgeknight]

Atop their perch, the Old Crow and his new charge peer down upon the outer city of Black Gate. In the Upper City, guards wonder about the voice they heard and if they actually saw a young girl or was she just a foggy illusion. Cursing their luck this night, they return to their duty.

The fog wafts in and around the stalls and makeshift shelters, hiding and revealing as it goes. One such revelation is the body of Ricky, his face and chest hacked into a gory mess. Callie/Crow cocks her head and peers down at the young Halfling who offered to help her...but he changed his mind and ran off.

Somewhere off to the left, Callie hears a muffled cry and quickly flies in that direction. Something is struggling in the fog, thrashing, kicking, fighting. The fog wafts away and Callie sees the body of a woman; she is covered in blood. Hovering near her...

phantom sword.png (329.07 KiB) Viewed 1217 times

[alchemy]

Callie dives down and transforms again, this time turning herself into a great Brown Bear. She immediately goes on the attack...

ooc: while that is a legal maneuver, she can no longer shape shift until after a short rest. That's for your info. Also, I am very tired. I'll pick this up in the morning and make my rolls.

[alchemy]

In Brown Bear form, Callie attacks the aberration:
Attack roll: 25; Damage Bite 7 points damage

Attack roll 24
Claws 12 points of damage

Total:19 points of damage.

[hedgeknight]

From a crow to a bear, the transformation is quick and momentarily surprises the bloodied wraith intent upon carnage. Callie/Bear rips into it with tooth and claw...but to little effect. The creature expels a mist of grave breath and delivers a slash of its sword, that trims the hair on the bear's face...but leaves it otherwise unscathed!
"Foolish mortal! Thou dost waste my time > here, play with thy friend, he misses thee!"

The creature reaches forth and Callie/Bear hears a wail off to her right...and turning she spies the tortured soul of Ricky the Halfling...charging toward her...becoming more grotesque and frightening the closer he gets!

Ricky Specter.png (134.17 KiB) Viewed 1212 times

Initiative and actions!

[alchemy]

She doesn't even bat an eye. Caught up in the moment, she attacks and hits 2x...I think.

Then she attacks again: [1d20+6]=9+6=15
[1d8+4]=6+4=10 Bite

[1d20+6]=9+6=15
Damage: [2d6+4]=7+4=11

[hedgeknight]

Callie/Bear doesn't hesitate...she attacks! Biting and clawing the specter of Ricky, she tries to release his tortured soul. With a screech, the specter passes clean through her then turns and opens a deep gash in her back with its talons!
Specter: [1d20+4]=12+4=16 [3d6]=6


alchemy > when you use the dice roller, there is an option to copy either the PbP Forum Code or the PbP Forum insert...just click on "Copy" at the far right, then paste it in your post like I did above.
Here's a screenshot of what I'm talking about:

Screen Shot 2021-10-02 at 9.11.40 PM.png (1.01 MiB) Viewed 1205 times

[alchemy]

I have no idea how to pull it from the dice roller to wherever it goes. I do know that I rolled a 22 to attack, so that what Callie's gonna do.

Attack: 22
Damage: 12 points damage bite

Attack: 12
Damage 10

We shall see how kind the dice are...

[hedgeknight]

Callie/Bear rips and tears into the specter of Ricky, sending him back to the grave with a thankful wail. She turns around and looks for the wraith...but sees nothing but fog.

Actions?

[alchemy]

The bear shambles back toward the inn, her sniffer alert to potential danger as she screens herself using Mask of the Wild.

Above her, Old Crow follows stoically, keeping an eye on his furry friend. Once they reached the inn, she transformed again, turning back into a lovely wood elf.

Old Crow, I'm tired. Let's get you warm and me dry. And lets be quiet about it, yes?

[hedgeknight]

You're on the other side of Black Gate, in the Outer City. To get back to the Three Old Kegs, you'll either have to change form and fly back over or wait until morning when they open the gates for the day.

[alchemy]

OOC: It seems I've used up both transformations allotted to me, but I can stay in bear form as I look around for a hidey hole.

There's a rumble deep in Callie's chest as she looks around for a safe haven. Old Crow caws in frustration, then takes to the wing, keeping an eye out for anything that might be dangerous.

[hedgeknight]

Callie/Bear looks around, frustrated about the disappearance of her quarry, and watches Old Crow fly back to the top of the wall. She looks around for some place to hole up for the rest of the night. She snuffs around, testing the air with her sensitive nose...and she smells the unmistakable scent of fish. She follows her nose to a drying rack where perhaps earlier in the day, fish were hanging for salting and drying. She snuffs the ground and licks up a few drops of dried blood, looking around for more fish.
She stands up on her hind legs...and hears a gasp behind her. Dropping back to all fours, she turns around and sees two Dwarves looking at her, trying hard not to make any sudden movements.
One of the Dwarves is a woman, the other a man. Both wear bloody aprons...and smell like...fish.

[alchemy]

Callie snuffs at the two dwarfs, sits on her hind legs and looks around. Spying no fish, she ambles away from the dwarves, again looking for a niche or alcove that might afford her a hidey-hole.

[hedgeknight]

Read my post more closely. The dwarves do not have any fish; they SMELL like fish.

The Dwarves gawp at the bear and slowly back away...

[alchemy]

I have returned. Master Resets on this board suck.

Thanks for your patience. I'm back the grid.

[alchemy]

My router shit the bed. Took Windstream 5 days to show up for a 3 minute fix. Sorry for the delay. I'm back in business.